Early on in my Disney career, I had the pleasure of working at Disney’s Yellow Shoes Creative Group, the in-house creative agency for Disney Parks. I was an Account Manager and every day I was in awe of the talented creative minds that surrounded me. One of them was a copywriter named Joe Kaminski.

For the 6th year, Joe has been featured as the Signature Artist for Festival of the Masters. I’ve always admired Joe’s skills putting pen to paper; but paint to canvas? This was new! I recently sat down with Joe to find out how he transitions from an advertising copywriter by day to a respected Disney artist in his after-hour time.

Joe shared that some of his best inspiration comes from his peers. “I come to work and see all these ‘artsy’ folks around the office – guys like Don ‘Ducky’ Williams, who’s been illustrating Disney characters for over 30 years. I started out by doing some drawings and posting them around the walls of my office. At first, the Art Directors would laugh, but every now and then, they’d critique and give me some suggestions. Over time, they started to appreciate my drawings, which gave me the confidence to start painting. I dabbled. It was a sloppy learning process; my style is loose lines, not a lot of perfection, but that’s what makes it fun.”

When Joe learned of the annual competition to be featured as the Signature Artist for Festival of the Masters, he decided to give it a try. He entered one of his recognizable Mickey paintings and the rest is history.

This year, his latest effort, “Whistlin’ Mickey,” was selected. Joe thinks it’s fitting given the Downtown Disneyexpansion efforts now underway. “With all the new changes and magic going on at Downtown Disney, it’s like the property is whistin’ a new tune. So this works.”

Joe will be attending the 38th annual Festival of the Masters presented by Michael’s, taking place November 8-10, 2013. As in years’ past, he’ll be signing his work and meeting guests. In addition, he’ll have several original pieces of art for sale.

I hope you’ve got your calendar marked and plan to attend this favorite fall event! In the meantime, you can learn more about Festival of the Masters here.

Jason on October 15th, 2013 at 11:58 am

Thank you for the great posts, Darcy! Joe’s work is amazing! I’m so excited about this years Festival of the Masters that it makes me want to dance in the ocean!

Darcy Clark on October 15th, 2013 at 2:27 pm

Jason, thanks for reading! I agree — Joe is so talented — dancing in the ocean seems like a fun way to celebrate his art

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Gretta on October 21st, 2013 at 8:48 am

Hello! I’m looking forward to Festival of the Masters, I’ve never been before. I love Joe’s art and can’t wait to see it. Do you know the hours of the event? I can’t seem to find it on the website. Thanks for any help you can provide!

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